Self-fulfillment allows you to create your product listing and manually fulfill orders with the lab of your choice. This is a great option if you already have a local lab you're comfortable working with, or if you want to offer items outside of what's available in our lab integrations.
You'll create the prints and products, configure your shipping options, create a pricing profile, then assign your pricing. When an order comes in, you'll be responsible for sending the order to the lab of your choice.
Before completing the setup, we encourage you to check with the lab you'll be using to ensure that the product descriptions you give your items are in line with what your customers can expect upon delivery. Since you configure the shipping options for the prints and products you create, you should also confirm with the lab what shipping methods they offer and the associated pricing.
Using our Print Vendor Network
If you don't work with a local lab, orders for self-fulfilled prints or products can be fulfilled by a registered print lab from the PhotoShelter Print Vendor Network.
You should have a relationship with a lab in our Print Vendor Network prior to sending orders to that lab. If you see a lab you're interested in working with, give them a call to review their product offerings, pricing, and to determine how you will be billed.
Fees
We charge a transaction fee on the total amount of each sale, minus any shipping or tax. This transaction fee applies to all orders, including self-fulfilled orders. We assess the fee at the time of the sale and add it to your next month's PhotoShelter statement. Please note that transaction fees are separate from any fees assessed by your billing provider. The fee percentage is based on account tier:
- Basic: 10%
- Standard: 9%
- Pro: 8%
Setting Up Self-Fulfilled Prints & Products
Creating your Print and Product List
1. Select "Sell" > "Self-Fulfillment" from the Navigation Bar.
2. Click the "Create New Print/Product" button to add a new item.
3. Use the fields provided to create and describe your item. You should clearly indicate size in the product name (e.g. “8x10 Signed Print” or “20x30cm Print”) so buyers are informed of their options when shopping. If you plan to have a print lab fulfill your orders, you may want to see how the vendor describes their own products so you can use the same selling points to market yours.
4. Specify height and width (English units only) or indicate a custom size. This sizing is for internal use only and is not displayed to buyers. Custom size descriptions can be up to 20 characters long. This is useful if you prefer metric or special sizes (e.g. “A4” or “30x20cm”).
If the custom size field is used, the buyer will not be able to select his or her own crop when checking out. If you are creating a self-fulfilled item defined as a product (as opposed to a print), you may opt to define the image’s dimensions.
Note: Height and width are not required if you specify a custom size. However, including the height and width allows us to properly sort your custom print sizes in the checkout screen. For example, if you are offering an "A4" print in addition to standard EZ Prints sizes, entering the correct dimensions for your print in inches (in this case, 8.3 x 11.7) will place your print after "8x10" prints, but before "11x14" prints.
5. If the item you've created is a Print, choose which finishes you'd like to offer. These include:
- Matte
- Glossy
- Lustre
- Metallic
- Art
- Stretched Canvas
- Watercolor
Keep in mind that each print size you'd like to offer must be created as a separate self-fulfilled product. However, you don't have to define a different product for each finish you want to offer -- just check off the boxes for all of the finishes you want to offer for that particular size, and your customers will see these as finish options when adding this print size to their cart.
6. When you’ve made your selections, click the “Continue to Shipping” button. Follow the steps in the next section of this article to set up your shipping options.
Configuring Your Shipping Options
Because self-fulfilled products can vary in size and weight, you can create specific shipping options per item and location. If using a local lab or a lab in the Print Vendor Network, we highly recommend you contact them to find out more about their shipping options.
1. When setting your shipping options, the following fields must be filled out:
- Country: You may create a separate shipping entry for each country you want to support, or you can choose "[All other countries]" to charge the same rate for all countries other than those you specifically indicate. Please note that if a customer attempts to purchase a self-fulfilled item in a country you haven't specified shipping options for, they will be unable to proceed with their purchase.
- Method: Shipping vendors (e.g. FedEx) are listed, as well as more generic options, such as 2-day air.
- Base Fee: The base fee is the initial fee for shipping the item. You can specify the fee for one item or for multiple items. For example, if the item is a signed 8x10 inch print, then you might allow buyers to purchase up to 10 prints with the base fee. But if the item is a book, you might only include one item given its heavier weight and thus greater shipping costs.
- Additional Fees: If you want to charge a fee for shipping additional items (i.e. items over what’s included in your base fee), you can do so here. For example, an extra $5.00 for every 10 items after what’s included with the base fee.
- Size Designation: This is an optional field to group shipping of items that all have the size you select. For example, you have a book with a shipping price of $10 for two items and a size designation of “small,” and a framed print with a shipping price of $15 for two items and a size designation of “small” - a customer who orders both will have the shipping grouped because the size designation is the same. They will pay the higher of the two fees.
2. Click the "Add Another Shipping Option" button to add more options. Otherwise, click the "Save" button when you’ve finalized your choices.
Now that you're back on the Self-Fulfilled Prints and Products page, you can change the order in which your items are displayed to buyers. You may choose to alter this sequence by dragging and dropping the products within the list - that way they appear on this page in the order in which they will be displayed on your website.
If you ever want to create a similar self-fulfilled print or product, you can click the "copy" link under the "Actions" column. Or if you want to delete a print or product offer, click the "delete" link.
Pricing Self-fulfilled Prints and Products
Once you've created your self-fulfillment prints and products, the next step is to create a Pricing Profile:
1. Select "Sell" > "Pricing Profiles" from your site's navigation and click the green "Add Profile" button to create a new Prints and Products Pricing Profile. If you have an existing pricing profile you want applied to your self-fulfilled products, click the name of the profile you would like to use.
2. Fill in the required fields. In the "Inventory & Prices" section, click the "+Add a Vendor" button and select "Self-Fulfilled/Print Vendor Network."
3. In the list that appears below, you’ll see the custom prints and products you’ve created. In the column labeled "Price," enter the price at which you’d like to offer that particular item for sale. If you do not want to offer a specific item, leave the price field blank.
4. When you're finished setting your prices, click the "Save Pricing Profile" button at the bottom of the page.
5. The last step is to apply this pricing profile to your images. Check out our detailed Applying Pricing Profiles tutorial to learn more.
Selling Self-Fulfilled Prints & Products
You've set up and priced all your self-fulfilled prints and products -- what's next? And what happens after a purchase is made? Find out below.
1. When someone purchases a self-fulfilled item, you will be notified via email. The order will also appear in "Sell" > "My Sales" under "Pending Self Fulfillment" with a status of "Pending Fulfillment."
2. If you're fulfilling your print or product on your own, you can close it out by clicking on the invoice number, then clicking the "Complete Order" button at the bottom of the page. By default, this sends the buyer a shipment notification by email, but you can disable this by unchecking the "Email buyer shipment details" box. You can also choose to include a tracking number and/or other internal reference number.
Alternatively, you can forward your order to any lab in the Print Vendor Network, at which point the fulfillment is placed in the hands of the selected vendor. For more on sending self-fulfilled orders to a lab from the Print Vendor Network, check out our detailed Print Vendor Network tutorial.
